In 2016, NACHA and the Federal Reserve Board amended their operating rules to support Same Day ACH payments.

The rule will enable ACH originating depository financial institutions (ODFIs) that want to utilize same-day processing the option to send same-day ACH transactions to accounts at any receiving depository financial institution (RDFI). Offering same-day ACH products and services will be optional for ODFIs, but receipt of same-day entries will be required for RDFIs.

Besides requiring mandatory participation by RDFIs, the rule requires an interbank fee paid by the ODFI to the RDFI for each same-day ACH forward transaction. The fee will allow RDFIs to recover some of their costs for enabling and supporting mandatory receipt of same-day ACH transactions. The interbank fee is set at $0.052 cents per transaction.

ODFIs will be able to submit files of same-day ACH payments through two new clearing windows provided by the ACH Operators:

A morning submission deadline at 10:30 a.m. (ET), with settlement occurring at 1 p.m. (ET); and

Virtually all types of ACH payments, including both credits and debits, will be eligible for same-day processing. Only international ACH transactions (IATs) and high-value transactions above $25,000 will not be eligible.